Let’s talk about food and state fairs.
That’s chocolate covered bacon on a stick. Yessir.
You can see my food on the stick post here. A list, some more pix and perhaps one of your favs?! Pig intestines on a stick, anyone?
It’s State Fair time. Time to battle crowds, eat a bunch of crap and puke on the tilt a whirl. Ah, memories.
Thinking about these large statewide gatherings reminded me how places like that help me find characters as a writer.
One year, I worked at the Columbia Record booth at the NY State Fair. I was supposed to con, I mean convince people to sign up for the club. I worked on commission only. I met so many people, heard stories, watched strangers interact with strangers and enjoyed the “game” they tried to throw at me. But after a few days of the same pitch, I started visiting the barns to see cows and horses, goats and newborn lambs. I did my job, but I also shopped other booths. Rode some rides. Got a few dates… and at the end of a week, when i’d seen about everything there was to see, I quit the job, and bought myself a pair of very cool cowboy boots which I wore backpacking through Europe years later.
Funny thing is, I still use pieces of the characters I met at that fair in my writing today. Some things just “stick” with you.
